As sales of refurbished smartphones (refurbs) repaired from display and return items in advanced economies enter a plateau, Apple was analyzed to be showing strength, centered on emerging markets.
According to global used phone market data from Counterpoint Research on the 9th, worldwide refurb sales in the first half of this year rose 3% from a year earlier, narrowing the growth rate. While the United States and major European countries showed only tepid growth or even a decline in sales, leaving growth in advanced markets at around 1%, emerging markets rose 4%.
In particular, Apple showed strength with a 12% growth rate in emerging markets. Samsung's share in advanced markets rose 4%, but it did not post strong growth due to market weakness.
In the first-half refurb market, fifth-generation (5G) smartphones accounted for 57%, up 65% from a year earlier. The report said the second-half refurb market is expected to respond flexibly to macroeconomic uncertainty, and that demand for the latest models, including the iPhone 13, iPhone 14 series, and Samsung Galaxy S series, will continue to grow in advanced markets.
Jan Stryjak, a research director at Counterpoint, said, "As competition in the refurb market intensifies, companies' profit margins are falling, and securing used phone volumes is also becoming more difficult," and added, "With supply shrinking, countries that import used phones do not have many devices to choose from."
He added that corporations are increasing sales of unrepaired used phones (as-is) to lower operating expense, and said that even in the first half, sales of unrepaired used phones rose 10% from a year earlier.